Munster, fielding a team dominated by young, up and coming players, brought the curtain down on their season with a gutsy 27-25 win over Zebre at the Stadio XXV Aprile in Parma.

Some of Munster's emerging players have been tasked with securing a final league victory for the province in Parma tonight, as they look to quickly get over their semi-final exit from the Heineken Cup.

Munster's brave bid to derail Clermont Auvergne's march to their first Heineken Cup title fell short in a cagey semi-final in Montpellier.

The first of this weekend's Heineken Cup semi-finals is a fascinating meeting of one of the tournament's most successful sides, two-time winners Munster, and new pretenders to the crown, French powerhouses Clermont Auvergne. Can Paul O'Connell and his team-mates rip up the form book once again?

British & Irish Cup champions Munster 'A' were dethroned by their provincial rivals Leinster 'A' after a hard-fought semi-final tussle at Dooradoyle on Friday night.

A youthful Munster side showed plenty of character as they came from 19-5 down at half-time to be within eight minutes of victory at Rodney Parade. However, a late surge - including a 75th minute try from Ross Wardle - saw the Dragons finish on top.

Some of Munster's up-and-coming players have been tasked with giving the province a winning lead-in to next week's Heineken Cup semi-final against Clermont Auvergne. But amongst the squad to take on the Dragons tonight is retiring prop Marcus Horan, who is in the final weeks of a long and rewarding professional career.

The returning Brian O'Driscoll scored the match-winning try for Leinster in a bruising RaboDirect PRO12 battle with Munster on Saturday night.